"The Reserve Bank will think long and hard about providing the economy with another rate cut if activity levels remain relatively soft."

Australia's AAA Credit Rating

Colonial First State economic and market research leader Stephen Halmarick told the ABC there was a very real chance Australia's credit rating would be downgraded, but that it wouldn't be devastating.

"There is not many AAA credit rating nations left in the world -- the UK lost theirs last week and so even if Australia was downgraded, I don't think it is going to have a big impact on increasing our borrowing costs," Halmarick said.

University of Melbourne associate professor Sarah Maddison said businesses were likely to enter a period of conservatism while an election outcome was unknown.

"The big concern is for business confidence," Maddison said.

"In times of uncertainty, businesses are less likely to invest in themselves and less likely to create new jobs until the dust has settled, and Australia can't afford to wait.

"We were promised jobs and growth but here we are waiting."

Maddison, however, said any fear should be tempered with the surety that Australia's faced political instability before.

"We could almost characterise the last decade as a time of political uncertainty," Maddison said.

"We've had successive PMs be deposed by their own party, backstabbing and uncertainty. It's almost become the norm these days and yet our economy is still comparatively strong."